A PERSPECTIVE ON ETERNAL SECURITY
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February 2002
Some hold to the teaching that you can loose your eternal salvation. Those who choose to take this viewpoint, I do not condemn, but I believe it is an incorrect teaching.
The blessed Saviour Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, died for us on the cross so that we should be saved from the wrath of God on the sin that leads to death and hell. God is the Sovereign Agent in the universe. He draws us out from the world. In John 6:37 Jesus says, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." Jesus says, "All that the Father giveth me..."; Christ Jesus came to do the will of the Father and that is to save me.
Returning to the Book of John, look at chapter 10, verses 27-29, where jesus says the following: " My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand."
Satan likes for people to believe that they aren't secure in Christ Jesus. But it was by Jesus' finished work on the cross that He did secure us for all time. For we are not our own, we were bought at a price. We belong to Christ Jesus.
Can we access our salvation on ill-defined standards? It is clear that man cannot save himself in any way, shape, or form. I believe what Pastor-Teacher Rob Moren once said, "God chose us, to choose him." Let's look at Titus 3:3-5 which tells us, "For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."
When we do mess up, that is sin. We do have an advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous. We can confess our sins to Him and He is faithful and just to forgive us from all our unrighteousness. He forgives us when we cry out to Him. We are his, for He has sealed us with his Spirit, the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13-14 says, "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."
This brings us to the question: If we are sealed by the holy Spirit of promise, understanding those who have truly and sincerely given their lives over to Christ Jesus, gives us the gift of salvation, can He or will he take it back? Let's take a look at Ephesians 2:8-10 which tells us, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
The Grace of God is the source of our salvation. Faith is the channel, not the cause. For God alone saves, NOT MAN! God generates in us the essentials of our belief, for He draws us out of the world.
When God saves us and we are in Christ Jesus, do men fall away when they do sin?
I know that the saying, "once saved, always saved," upsets some people. When a person falls away, some see it as loosing their salvation. Others see it as the person was never truly saved.
Look at what Romans 10:8-10 has to say to us: "But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
R.C. Spoul Jr. shares this with us, "There is a distinction between profession and possession of faith. The Bible makes it clear that it is possible for people to profess faith in Christ without actually possessing it." Many try to play the role, but without a true and real relationship with Jesus Christ, one is not truly saved. I've known many who have left and I've seen many who have backslid and were not lost. They were picked up and put around the Good Shepherd's shoulders, as he spoke softly to them and loving them. it is a hard thing to see one fall away.
1 John 2:19 says, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."
In Matthew 7:21 we find the following: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
God is sovereign, and in His providential provision He has provided us the way to eternal salvation. That is through Jesus Christ the Righteous, but we must have a true and real relationship with Him. We have to profess our faith in Christ Jesus. We must pick up our cross and follow Him!
If you become a backslider or sin, there is hope in Christ. He is faithful and just to forgive us. Walk in Christ and know he is immutable. He doesn't change. He's the same today, yesterday, and forever.
I would like to close with Romans 8:38-39 where it says, "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Our security in Christ is absolute. We must walk circumspectly, stay in prayer, study the Word of God and read it daily, and fellowship!
May the peace and love of Jesus Christ abound you greatly.
(c) 2002 by Pastor Aaron D. Lint
